Automatic fire-alarm.



Y. M. WESTMORELAND.

AUTOMATIC FIRE ALARM. v APYLIOATION FILED APILZQ, 1911.

1,039,863, Patented Oct. 1, 1912.

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Y. M. WESTMORELAND.

AUTOMATIC FIRE ALARM. APPLICATION IIQFED AP B.29, 1911. 1,039,863, Patented Oct. 1, 1912.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

YANGY MARTIN WESTMORELAND, OF GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-ALARM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, YANGY M. WESTMORE- LAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greensboro, in the county of Guilford and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Automatic Fire-Alarm, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in fire alarms.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of fire alarms, and to provide a simple, inexpensive and eflicient automatic fire alarm, adapted to be readily applied to the rooms or apartments of a house or other structure, and capable, in event of a fire in any portion of a house, of immediately sounding an alarm and of indicating the particular room or apartment in which the fire is located before the same has gained material headway, whereby fires may be extinguished with comparatively little loss.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully. described, illustrated. in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in r the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a house, equipped with an automatic fire alarm, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is an en-- larged detail perspective view of a portion of the automatic fire alarm. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view, illustrating the manner of connecting the cords of the alarm operating weights with the inflam; mable material. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of one of the weights. Fig. 5 is a detail view of a portion of the alarm, illustrating the manner of supporting the pivoted trip lever or trigger in position beneath the lower end of the bottom tube of the series.

Like numerals of reference designate cor responding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1, 2 and 3 designate a verti- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 29,1911.

Patented Oct. 1,1912. Serial No. 624,177.

cal series of tubes, arranged one below anbeneath a plurality of weights, which are in the form of balls 5 and which are adapted to roll down the tubes and trip an alarm 6.

The tubes are mounted insuitable brackets or supports 7, preferably consisting of a single piece of metal, bent at an intermediate point to form a ring or loop 8, the side portions of the metal being fitted together and extended from the loop to form a shank or stem 9, and bent in the opposite direction, and the terminal portions of the metal being bent at righta'ngles to form attaching arms 10, which are secured to the wall. Any other suitable form of bracket or support may of course beemployed. The vertical tubes are preferably arranged in the corners of their respective rooms or apartments so as to be out of the way, but they may be arranged at any other desired point and may be encased so as not to be exposed to view. The.

lower end of both tubes 1 is located above .a trip lever or trigger 11 of the alarm 6.

The alarm, which may be of any preferred normally held out of operation by the trigger or lever 11. The trigger or lever 1.1. is

providedfat its outer end with an integral of the said balls 5, whereby the trigger or trip leveris caused to releasethe bell ringing mechanism for sounding the alarm. The

construction, is preferably provided with a ;bell, and bell r1ng1ng mechanism, wh1ch 1s trip lever or' trigger 11, which is pivoted at 1 its inner end 11 to a lug or ear 6 of the casingof the alarm 6, is provided at an in termediate point with a catch 12 and adapted to engage witha catch 13 of a the alarm. The winding shaft 15 ,is con nected with a barrel spring 16*,jwhich is placed under tension. when the shaft 15 is rotated'ifor. winding up the alarm. The trip lever or trigger 11 is adapted to hang down from the lug 6 when the alarm is not set. After the winding shaft is rotated for 'setting the alarm, the catch 12 of the trip lever or trigger is engaged with the catch 13 of the wheel 14 These catches consist of fingers or projections angularly bent at an intermediate point to enable them to positively engage each other. The barrel spring 16 is of sufficient strength to maintain the catches in engagement with each other for supporting the trip lever or trigger with its outer end beneath the lower end of the bottom tube 1 of the vertical series, but a comparatively light blow will disengage the catch of the trigger from that of the wheel 14* and releases the alarm. Any suitable gearing may be employed for transmitting motion from the spring actuated winding shaft to the bell ringing mechanism. The bottom tube is preferably located in a room 13 on the first floor of a house, and its funnel is arranged in spaced relation with the ceiling of such room 18. The intermediate tube 2 is located in a room 14 on the second floor, and its lower end 15 extends through the floor of the room 14: and terminates at a point a short distance above the funnel of the bottom tube 1. The top tube 3, which is located within a garret 16 of a house, has its lower end 17 extending through the floor of the garret and located above the funnel of the intermediate tube 2. lVhile a series of three tubes is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, yet it will be readily understood that any number of tubes may be employed, and that the fire alarm may be applied to a building having any number of rooms or apartments.

A ball 5 is provided for each of the rooms of each floor, and each ball has a number 18 or other suitable designation corresponding to the number or other destination of the room, so that when one of the balls 5 of the system is released, as hereinafter explained, and rolls down the tubes and operates the trigger and sounds the alarm, the number or other indicating means on such ball will show the room or apartmentin which the fire is located, so that the attendant or other person occupying the room in which the alarm is installed may take the necessary steps for extinguishing the fire, [By this means, it will be impossible for a fire to gain any material headway, and fires occurring may be quickly extinguished without serious loss. Each ball is provided with a recess 19 in which is arranged an eye 20, formed by a staple or other suitable means and having one end- 21 of a cord 22 attached to it, the knot or attaching portion being located within the recess, so that the exterior of the ball is smooth to enable the same to fall freely through the vertical tubes. The ball is suspended at the top of the funnel from an overhead hanger 23-, which may consist of a screw eye, as illustrated in Fig. 2, but a guide pulley may be employed for this purpose and is preferably used when the cord has a considerable bend, as is the case when the cord extends from an apartment 2 1,v such as a basement or cellar, located below the floor having the bottom tube 1 of the series. The hangers are adapted to support a series of balls over the funnel in position for causing any one of the balls to drop inflammable casing or covering 28.

into the funnel when the cord corresponding to such ball is released.

The attached end 25 of the cord 22 is secured to a supporting ring 26 within which is arranged a mass of inflammable material 27, which may consist of any suitable absorbent material saturated with an inflammable substance and contained within an The cord extends from one side of the open supporting frame or ring to the ball, and the attached end is located at the opposite side of the open frame, which may of course be of any preferred form. The inflammable material is preferably held within the ring between the strands 29 of the cord 22, the strands being open for this purpose, as clearly illustrated in Fig. of the drawings. The ring is secured to the ceiling or other overhead support by means of vertical screws 30, or other fastening devices, which space the rings from the ceiling. A plurality of fuses 31 radiate from the ring to different portions of the room or apartment, so that a fire occurring within the same will ignite one of the fuses 31 and through the medium of the same ignite the inflammable material 27 and cause a burning of the ball supporting cord to release the ball for sounding the alarm. The fuses may be of any suitable construction and the ring supports them in position with their terminals adjacent to the inflammable material. fstrands 29 may also be employed for holding the inner terminals of the fuses in close contact with the inflammable material. :fuses 31 are each supported by a very fine wire 32, which is wrapped or extended spi- I rally around the fuse 31, say, once every two or three inches. iomitted, is preferably employed as it pre- ;vents the fuse from breaking and enables a fuse of any desired length to be employed.

The loop formed by the separated The The wire, which may be Any other form of fuse may of course be employed and the cords and the fuses may be cords are designed to extend through openings 33 in the walls or partitions separating the rooms, so that any number of rooms on a floor may be included in the system.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An automatic fire alarm connarising an alarm having operating means, a vertical series of tubes extending upward from the operating means of the alarm and spaced apart at their adjacent ends and provided at their upper ends with funnels, a plurality of weights, and inflammable means for suspending the weights at the funnels, any one of the weights being adapted to drop through the tubes and operate the alarm.

2. {an automatic fire alarm including an alarm having a trigger, a plurality of spaced vertical tubes forming a single conduit to the trigger and each provided at its upper end with a funnel and having its lower end open, the lower end of the bottom tube being located above the said trigger, a plurality of balls arranged above each of the funnels at the spaces between the tubes, and inflammable means for suspending the balls independently of one another over the funnels of the tubes, any one of the balls being adapted to drop through the tubes to engage the trigger to sound the alarm.

3. An automatic fire alarm including an alarm having a trigger, a tube extendingv upwardly from the trigger and having an open lower end located above the said trigger, an open support, a ball suspended above the upper end of the tube and provided with a cord extending to and across the support, inflammable material arranged within the open support and connected with the cord, and a plurality of fuses extending from the support.

4. An automatic fire alarm comprising an alarm having operating means, a weight for actuating the operating means, and means for suspending the weight over the operating means including an open support, an inflammable cord connected with the weight and extending across the support and com-;

posed of a plurality of strands separating at the support, inflammable material held between the separate strands of the cord, and a plurality of fuses extending from the inflammable material. p a

5. An automatic fire alarm comprising an alarm having a trigger, a tube extendingfrom the trigger, and means for suspending the weight above the tube, said means including an open support, an inflammable cord extending across the support and composed of a plurality of strands separated at the support, inflammable material held mable support extending across the ring and secured at one end to the same, an inflammable mass of material having an inflammable covering and supported within the ring by the said cord, and a plurality of fuses supported by the ring and extending from the inflammable material.

7 An automatic fire alarm comprising an alarm having a trigger, a vertical series of tubes extending upward from the trigger and spaced apart at their adjacent ends and provided at their upper ends with funnels, a plurality of weights having designations corresponding with the various rooms or apartments, and inflammable means for suspending the weights at the said funnels.

8. An automatic fire alarm com rising an alarm having a trigger, a vertica series of tubes provided at their upper ends with funnels and designed to be arranged within a vertical series of rooms or apartments, the bottom tube having an open lower end located above the trigger and the lower ends of the other tubes being extended through the floors of the rooms or apartments and spaced from the funnels, and inflammable means for suspending designating weights over the funnels.

v In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signa ture in the presence of two witnesses.

YANOY MARTIN WESTMORELAND.

l Vitnesses:

J. P. BOYLES, D. M. STAFFORD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

